Winter Chores

With the change back to winter weather, I am back to doing winter chores.

icicles out the barn door

The goats tried going out to pasture, but it didn’t last long.  Don’t believe them when they tell you they are starving.

the herd trying to find food on the bottom

The moms on the front pasture

Dolly and Casey didn’t even make it all the way out; they just stood at the top.

I have given them full hay since the day it snowed.

Popcorn  and the girls

Gabe

Maybeline

Ava with one of the kids

I will continue doing that while the pasture is covered in snow and it’s too rainy to go out to pasture.

Athena with Mocha in front of her

Donkey nibbling some hay

Pixel and Paisley soaking in the sun’s warmth

The kids are even nibbling on the hay and enjoying it as a warmer dry place to bask in the sun.

Weekend Chores

The return to cold and snow means I had to give the goats full hay rations again.  I had been giving them plenty to eat, but they were also eating in pasture.

Heidi and Moxie sharing a pile of hay

Maybeline munching

I’d hate for them to starve.

As an aside, I haven’t seen Flora come back into heat, so she might be bred for June.

It also meant Dolly was cold.  Seriously, the temperature swings are hard on all the goats, but my almost sixteen-year-old really can’t take it.

Dolly having a discussion with the dog.

So I put her in with Trace, who had just lost her companion.

Trace–she’s thin but hanging in there. The vet and I consulted on her as well.

It was just for a couple of days–mostly until it wasn’t such a horrible wind chill.

Dolly in the doorway

Dolly and Trace (she’s eating!)

One bit of exciting news from this weekend’s chores–I got an egg!  It’s my first egg in months because my hens are so old.

I really didn’t think I’d ever get another egg from these girls, but one of the brown leghorns came through for me.

The brown leghorns are my only white egg layers.

I also had to do another round of copper this weekend–it had been eight weeks.  That’s about as long as I dare let them go.

I was kind of a wimp, almost as bad as Dolly.  But I did get a few goats who were happy to come into the milk room on Saturday.

Chiffon is always ready to come in and get sweet feed.

Guess who actually came to eat sweet feed when I called to her?  Zora!  My bratopotamus is getting better.  And while she was in there, I did an udder check–not a thing.  I know she’s not due for March; I’ll check again when we get closer to the end of April due dates.

Zora

I did most of the herd on Sunday, after the winds died down.  It’s a good job to have done.

Getting Rid of Energy

With nothing to do but hang out and wait for me to feed them, the goats are bored.  Bored goats are really naughty to each other.

Chiffon and Zora

I am tired of them fighting with each other and beating the stuffing out of me when I’m trying to give them their food.

Look at those eyes. Naughty.

I already quit giving them grain so I didn’t get run over (it’s warm enough they don’t really need that extra). And they have been horrible about hitting each other.

I’m so afraid someone is going to hurt Pretzel (and I don’t want her to abort again this year).

Friday evening, I decided to put Cutie in the Love Shack with Trace.

Trace and Cutie

She is just getting over another “episode” where I thought I was going to lose her, and she really can’t go out in pasture.

Cutie is still a bit tired.

Saturday morning, I went out while they were eating a breakfast of leftover hay.

Pretzel and LilyAnn (the gate in the background)

I opened the gate to the pasture.  It took about two seconds for the first ones to notice.

Hilda was first; followed by Plluto

Then they all came on the run.

Even my old lady, Dolly was running; Astra getting an old leaf from the fence.

There might have been a couple of them having a good rub against the fence.

Pluto getting in a good rub against the fence

Then it was jumping and head butting, running and twisting necks and kicking up heels.

Daisy

Flora

Finally, they did start to settle down into eating.  Mostly.

Maybeline

I hope they are tired and ready to be calm.